Natural history

The natural history project explores the idea of nature as history and history appearing as nature. The nature which is opposed to history is historical as it is characterized by growth and change and is subject to human intervention. On the other hand, human history and the capitalist economy has been mystified into nature, which appears as natural and unchanging.

History appearing as nature becomes a second nature. Second nature is the world of humans – the social world–and it presents itself as an unchanging nature, thus creating the illusion that things – i.e. social and economic conditions – are as they are of necessity: as though they were naturally ordained. Natural history is the historical grasped as natural. Natural history is history that is seen in a natural condition.

We misperceive nature as unchanging and we misperceive history as natural.